Milo Ventimiglia, 30, has a talent for dodging bullets. First there was a planned &#x2018;Gilmore Girls&#x2019; spin-off that went belly-up, leaving the kid free to join NBC&#x2019;s &#x2018;Heroes.&#x2019; Then there was &#x2018;Rocky Balboa&#x2019;—he played Stallone&#x2019;s son—a bad idea on paper that became the surprise hit of 2006. More recently, it was a reported relationship with costar Hayden Panettiere, who was (gulp) just 17 when they met. Here, we confront perhaps the luckiest man alive.

It seems like you&#x2019;ve aged a decade since the first season of &#x2018;Heroes.&#x2019; What gives?

Going through my twenties playing a teenager was kind of rough. I just finally put on a little man-weight. My face changed. Nothing I could do about it, man. It was a fucking train I could not stop.

The writers&#x2019; strike shut down television production. What did you do with all that free time?

I&#x2019;m busy as ever. I&#x2019;ve got a production company. I did two movies before Christmas—one with Gerard Butler, and then one called &#x2018;Chaos Theory,&#x2019; with Rhys Coiro. I really wanted to work with Rhys.

I love that young Hollywood watches &#x2018;Entourage.&#x2019; That&#x2019;s like me watching a reality show about Jews in publishing.

My friends definitely ask me: &#x201C;Would I be Turtle or Drama?&#x201D; I&#x2019;m like, Dude, you&#x2019;re my friend. This is real life and that&#x2019;s a TV show. But I&#x2019;m a fan. I don&#x2019;t necessarily go out and party and live that lifestyle.

Right, HALO. That&#x2019;s what the blogs are calling you and Hayden. Does the nickname bug you?

You know what, man—it makes me smile.

If you two are dating, why not just say so? I read you bought the girl a ring from Tiffany&#x2019;s!

When you&#x2019;re in the public eye, you try to keep whatever you can private. People can speculate and talk. But what can you do—stop living your life?

Hayden was GQ&#x2019;s Obsession of the Year. Did you like those photos?

Yes, I did. They were very nice.

Last question: You played Stallone&#x2019;s son in &#x2018;Rocky Balboa.&#x2019; Great movie. But the guy is starting to look like a Picasso. What&#x2019;s that face look like up close?

He&#x2019;s a good-looking guy. If I look like Sly at 60, I&#x2019;ll be pretty happy myself.

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